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Summer 2018 Campus Budget Update

Chancellor Christ sent the following message to the UC Berkeley community on June 27, 2018:

Dear Staff, Faculty and Students,

We are delighted to share information about positive developments regarding the state budget and philanthropy – two areas where faculty, students, staff and alumni have joined forces to build support for Berkeley.

State Budget

Today Gov. Brown signed the state budget bill. The UC system as a whole and UC Berkeley fared better than expected. For that, we have so many groups and individuals to thank, particularly our students who traveled to Sacramento numerous times to advocate on behalf of the campus. They proved to be a persuasive force. In addition, we are grateful for the work of our government relations colleagues who set and executed the campus advocacy strategy, and to so many of you who called and wrote to your representatives. In addition, an effort by members of our Board of Trustees External Affairs Committee was key to our success. Berkeley alumni also came through in fine golden bear fashion in an advocacy effort led by the California Alumni Association. Finally, we are thankful for the support shown by members of the legislature and the Governor.

The details of the UC state funding can be found on this page within the Government and Community Relations website; following are some important highlights that went beyond the Governor’s proposed budget:

$105 million in one-time funding systemwide to fund these UC priorities:

$70 million in lieu of a tuition and student services fee increase in 2018-19

$25 million to support currently enrolled students

$10 million for 2018-19 enrollment growth

$25 million in one-time funding to UC Berkeley to address existing expenses in order to eliminate the campus budget deficit

$35 million in one-time funding systemwide for deferred maintenance

One-time funding for instructional funds and programs to support campus life and student well-being

The $25 million item was not something UC Berkeley requested, and we’re grateful to the state for recognizing our progress toward achieving a balanced budget, and the extent to which further belt-tightening could undermine our academic excellence. While this allows us to reach a balanced budget in fiscal year 2018-19, we must remain extremely diligent about managing expenses and seeking new administrative efficiencies in support of our academic core and our students. Our strategies for generating additional revenue for campus are in the very early stages of implementation and it will take time to determine which ones will be successful. Continued investment and evaluation of academic programming will be necessary to ensure the maintenance of our balanced budget.

Please note that while we anticipate meeting all of our fiscal year 2018-19 budget targets, final budget numbers won’t be available until early in the fall at which time we will send a campus message and publish the campus-wide allocations on the Office of the Chief Financial Officer website.

Philanthropy

While our fundraising year officially closes on June 30, we have already surpassed $500 million in gifts and commitments for fiscal year 2017-18, setting a record for fundraising at Berkeley.

While $500 million is indeed an impressively large amount of money, we remind you that much of it is restricted by donor specifications; some include pledges and bequests which won’t be realized immediately; and a number of gifts go into our endowment which helps us to build a bright future for UC Berkeley. More details will be shared after the close of the fiscal year.

We thank our many Berkeley donors for their generosity and support. And we recognize the incredible work of our campus-wide team of fundraising professionals.